Men's Basketball Rallies from 12 Down in Second Half; Fall in Final Seconds at Limestone 78-75

GAFFNEY, S.C. Ė A second half rally by Pfeiffer University was almost complete until a free throw by Danny Friend broke a 75-75 tie as Limestone College barely held on for a 78-75 win over the Falcons in Conference Carolinas menís basketball on Saturday night at the Timken Center. The Saints improve to 16-3 overall, 10-1 in league play while the Falcons erased in a 12-point second half deficit falling to 8-11, 6-5.

Trailing 57-45 with 13:39 to go in the second half, a three-point play by Jeff Pettiway by started the Pfeiffer comeback. Josh Humphrey followed with a three and short jumper that brought the Falcons within four at 57-53 at the halfway point of the second. Back-to-back layups by Reggie Hollinger tied and gave the visitors a 63-61 lead with 7:33 to play.

Chris Woods gave Pfeiffer a one point lead twice with free throws at the 4:28 mark and with a dunk 52 seconds later. With 3:14 left, Woods pushed the Falcons ahead for the final time with a layup at 3:14 taking a 71-70 lead. Hollinger tied it twice late with two more easy baskets, but Friend and a basket by Jarrell Douglass sealed the win. Douglass came up big with a block in the final 15 seconds to prevent a possible overtime situation.

Douglass led all scorers with 19 while Friend had 13, just two of four Saints in double figure scoring. Hollinger paced Pfeiffer with 18 while Woods contributed with 15. Humphrey wrapped up with 11 points and team high eight rebounds while Davon Gilliard chipped in with 10.

Pfeiffer returns to action on Monday taking the long trip up to Mount Olive for a 7:30 p.m. tip with the Trojans.